Harlan A. Bartlett '51 was one of two men directly responsible
for the revival of crew at Brown in the spring of 1949. Several
years earlier, Bartlett and the late Jim Donaldson '50 submitted
themes on crew in Prof. Elmer Blistein's course. "No one ever wrote
on crew in my class before," Blistein said, "and now I get two
themes on the subject - and you both flunk." Although Bartlett and
Donaldson hadn't known each other up to that point, both had rowed
in prep school, Bartlett on Exeter's undefeated shell and Donaldson
at Saint Andrews in Middletown, Del. The two men talked many times
about trying to revive crew, which had been inactive since 1875. In
the fall of 1948 they borrowed Mr. & Mrs Bartlett's brand new
Oldsmobile 88 and drove to Saint Andrews, where they had been
promised a 34-year-old shell that had once belonged to Harvard. The
two men made the 450-mile trip back with the 65-foot-shell strapped
to the roof of the 17-foot Oldsmobile. The journey took 17 hours,
including a stop at Princeton, where Coach Shoch gave them 10 old
oars. With the 6-5, 190-pound Bartlett leading the way, crew became
an informal sport in the spring of 1949 and gained official status
as the Brown Rowing Association the next spring, when Captain
Bartlett's eight marked the return of crew to the Seekonk with an
impressive four-length victory over Clark. Harlan Bartlett coached
at Brown in 1954, has been a driving force in the BRA over the
years, and currently is its president. He is employed as regional
manager for BIF.